Biography
VIVA!, Lesbian and Gay Latino Artists, was a non-profit arts agency founded in 1987 for the purpose of promoting the creative and artistic talent of Lesbian Latinas and Gay Latinos and their culture. VIVA was formally designed to create a coalition of Lesbians and Gay, Latinos and Latinas and artists who would advocate against the lack of representation in Los Angeles of artists from these communities. Based in Los Angeles, the organization was formed by a group of Lesbian Latinas and Gay Latino artists in the Silver Lake community including Roland Palencia, Mike Moreno, Luis Alfaro, Marcus Kuiland-Nazario and Aleida Rodriguez. The organization also worked with other organizations and presses such as the Gay and Lesbian Services Center, "La Opinion" as well as Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU) to help bring visibility to VIVA! The organization provided visibility to artists through discussion, production and presentation of art, and the development of artists through educational, scholarship and presentational opportunities. In addition, VIVA! also used art to address issues of cultural and social-political concern through exhibitions, performances and projects such as collaboration with programs such as the Minority AIDS Project. Created in 1992, Chicks and Salsa became the organization's most successful annual event. This event was a multi-media performance which promoted Latina Lesbian artists and was developed in collaboration with to organization ASTRAEA, National Lesbian Action. In 1993, VIVA! was the winner of the GLAAD/LA Outstanding Community Service Award. By the mid-1990s, the organization's membership reached approximately 2000. The organizations dissolved in the late 1990s.
From the guide to the VIVA Papers, 1985-1995, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Chicano Studies Research Center, UCLA)
